


Maman Chance

by LyraMaeArcher, MalcolmReynolds



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Marichat, Minor Hurt, Sabine as Ladybug, lots of comfort, marichat friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:55:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28248012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyraMaeArcher/pseuds/LyraMaeArcher, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalcolmReynolds/pseuds/MalcolmReynolds
Summary: Marinette is caught by an akuma before she has a chance to transform. Luckily with a little help from her mother and her partner, the akuma is defeated!
Comments: 14
Kudos: 70





	Maman Chance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [epcot97](https://archiveofourown.org/users/epcot97/gifts).



> This is an Epcot97 Appreciation Nanosecond (aka birthday) gift for the first writing friend I ever made! Thanks for sticking with me all this time, Ep! ~Mal
> 
> Nanoseconds sure are a lot shorter than I expected. Also, thanks for being being a great writing buddy! Here's to our world domination plans.- Lyra
> 
> I've been baking the cookies for the world domination, but I still don't see how they fit in our plans... Mal

He wasn’t sure how she’d got there, in the alley, unless Alya’s bad habits had rubbed off on her. Chat Noir was fairly certain that he and Ladybug had cleared the area, but with the way that Marinette was clutching her leg, and hiding behind the stack of crates in the alley he knew they hadn’t been as thorough as he thought they’d been. He’d almost missed her as he leaped overhead from one building to the next, but the softest of whimpers floated up to his ears, and he spun on the tip of his baton, changing his trajectory, sending him bounding down into the alley, 

Kneeling in front of Marinette, he looked her over, taking in her visibly broken leg, and checking her for other injuries. When he couldn’t find anything major, he just looked at her, his face drawing into unsmiling lines. “What are you doing here, Marinette? You should be far away from this akuma. We’ve been fighting it long enough.” 

When Marinette blushed and looked away from him, his eyes hardened. “Please don’t tell me you’re helping out the Ladyblogger.” He frowned as she blanched away from his glare.

“No! It’s nothing like that. The akuma hit my leg and all I could think to do was hide.” She looked up at Chat Noir, a look of worry and defeat crossing her face. “I can’t stand, I can’t do anything.” She held up her phone which had been snapped almost in two. “What am I going to do?” 

The words ‘I can’t get back out there and fight’ warred to be released, along with ‘I don’t want to leave you out there alone’, but she couldn’t say either. So she sighed as she watched her partner, the tears stinging her eyes were way too real. 

“You live at the bakery, right?” Chat confirmed with her, although he knew perfectly well where she lived. “It’s only a few blocks from here. I’ll take you home, and get you out of danger.”

Mind whirring, Marinette nodded. Chat hefted her up and tried to move both quickly and smoothly, although there were tears of pain running down Marinette’s cheeks by the time he reached the bakery. He went in through the front door, and Marinette’s mother came running out from the back room. When she saw who entered, she called for her husband, who came and took Marinette from Chat’s arms.

“Thank you, son.” Tom rumbled as he held his daughter close. “Do you need anything before you head back out? Food? Drink? Anything?”

Chat shook his head, even as Sabine pressed a croissant into his now-empty hand. “Thank you Chat Noir, for all you do. And thank you for bringing our little girl back to us.”

Nodding, Chat plastered on his trademark grin, and with a two-fingered salute, was out the door and bounding down the empty street. The click of his baton hitting the ground as he launched himself to the rooftops the only sound. 

Inside, Tom carried Marinette up the stairs to their living area as Sabine peppered Marinette with questions about how she’d hurt herself. Truthfully, Marinette said that she’d been close to the akuma, and had been hit and then hidden until Chat had found her; failing to add that she’d been hiding less than a minute before Chat had happened along. After making sure that she was settled comfortably on the couch, Tom reluctantly headed downstairs. The couple kept their bakery open during nearby akuma attacks, in case someone was caught in the open and needed a place to shelter, so one of them needed to be downstairs to keep people safely away from the glass windows. 

Sabine stood as if to follow him, but instead, inquired if there was anything she could do to help her daughter. Marinette squirmed slightly but then nodded to herself, straightening her shoulders. “Actually, Maman, I do have a huge favor to ask of you.” She twiddled her fingers nervously as her mother came back over to her side, crouching down by the couch she was sitting on. 

As Sabine brushed the hair back from Marinette’s forehead in a tender gesture, Marinette drew in a deep breath and reached for her ears. Removing her earrings, she handed them to her mother. “I need you to wear these.” When Sabine started subtly checking over her daughter for signs of a head injury, Marinette sighed. “I really don’t have time to explain much now. I promise I will later, but I really need you to wear these.”

Frowning, Sabine slipped the earrings into her own ears, starting back when Tikki materialized in front of her. “Maman, this is Tikki. She’s a kwami. She’s the one who turns me into Ladybug.” Marinette’s voice cracked on the last word, and her mother wrapped her arms around her. 

It took a few moments for the shock to wear off, but soon Sabine was nodding and straightening. “Anything you need Marinette.” Tikki cheered and flew up to hug Sabine’s cheek. With a nervous intake of breath, Sabine asked, “so, how exactly does this work?”

Marinette and Tikki gave her mother a brief rundown of what she needed to do or was likely to experience, and they quickly came up with a story to tell Chat. Once Sabine was transformed, Marinette smiled at her mother. “You look perfect. I know you can do this!” 

Sabine was less certain but smiled reassuringly at her daughter. “Maman Chance is here to help out. Don’t think you are getting out of a long conversation when this is over.” She looked at her daughter through the mask, with the weight of both herself and Tikki. 

Nodding, Marinette shifted slightly, then winced in pain. They both froze when they heard Tom’s tread on the stair, but he stopped on the bottom step and called up to them. “Sabine, is everything alright up there?” 

She opened her mouth to reply, but Marinette cut her off. “She’s just run upstairs to grab the first aid kit, Papa. Can I pass on your message?”

They heard Tom grumble, but he said he was just checking on them, and Sabine should stay up there with her, he had the bakery covered. When Marinette called back her thanks, he must have been able to hear the relief in her voice, because he just sighed and then they heard his footsteps retreating. “Leave from my balcony,” Marinette instructed her mother. “It’s the easiest way to get out without anyone noticing.” She blushed at her mother’s expression, then shrugged. “I know. You’ll have words with me later.” Smile cheeky, despite the pain, Marinette winked at her mother. “What should I call you?”

Shaking her head at the wave of emotion overtaking her, Sabine squeezed her daughter’s hand, smiling a weak, but genuine smile. “Maman Chance. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Kissing Marinette’s forehead, she ran up the stairs, marveling at how young she felt. She unhooked her yo-yo from where it sat at her hip, and when she reached the balcony, tossed it out as she’d seen Ladybug do, _Marinette_ do, she mentally corrected herself, so many times.

It didn’t take long to find Chat Noir, perched in a very cat-like pose on a rooftop, carefully observing the akuma. His eyes looked at her with surprise when he turned to find her standing there. 

“Where’s Ladybug?” he asked, standing up. 

“She - uh - she sent me in her place. Tikki said that you would help me figure out what to do.” He frowned, obviously weighing the truth of her words. 

“Ok, let’s go. I think I know where the akuma is. Just catch the butterfly with your yo-yo and we’ll be good.” 

The fight itself was fairly straightforward, her Lucky Charm something she figured out how to use very quickly, and while he pouted slightly at the loss of his partner, Chat was very encouraging towards Maman Chance as she learned on her feet. She felt a sense of pride, watching _her_ ladybugs heal the city, but she truly felt part of the team when Chat held out his hand for a fist bump. 

Turning to Chat Noir, Mama Chance tried for her best casual tone. “So, how exactly does ‘miraculous ladybug’ work?”

Chat shrugged. “We’re not certain, exactly. All I know is damage that is directly related to the akuma, whether it happens before or after a person becomes akumatized, can be healed by a lucky charm.” He rolled his shoulders as his miraculous beeped. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m running low on time, and there is a friend I want to check on. Someone I want to make sure has healed properly.” With a bow to Maman Chance, he extended his baton and raced into the afternoon sunshine. 

A beeping near her ear told Maman Chance that she needed to get moving, too, and after one last scan of the area to make sure the akuma victim was well taken care of, she made her way back towards the bakery. She stopped in an alley a few streets away as the beeps became more frantic, and she caught the little red kwami who reappeared with a soft pop, and sighed. “What now, Tikki? I know you’ve been protecting my daughter, and that was exhilarating, but I’m definitely going to have a talk with her about staying safe.”

Tikki’s luminous blue eyes looked up at Sabine. “Now you feed me.” Her statement was punctuated by a gurgle of her stomach, and the two giggled. “I really like your cookies!”

Sabine’s eyebrows raised. “Is that where all those cookies disappear to? I assumed it was Marinette, but…” She trailed off, sighing. “One more thing I’ll have to talk to Marinette about, I suppose.”

She entered the bakery through a side door, gliding on silent feet up to the residence. When Marinette was not on the couch, she continued up to knock on the trap door of her bedroom. The room itself was empty, but she could hear voices floating down from the balcony. She easily recognized her daughter, and wasn’t terribly surprised to realize she knew the other voice, too, having fought beside him less than a quarter of an hour ago. He must have taken a more direct route here than she had. When Tikki’s belly gurgled, she quietly shut the trap door again, and slipped back downstairs to get a treat from the bakery for Tikki. She hugged Tom extra hard as she passed, and just reached up to cup his cheek at his inquisitive look. “The ladybugs healed her.”

Tom blew out a breath and smiled. “Ladybug is a true hero.”

Sabine smiled to herself as she loaded a plate full of good things to eat. “Healing, even magical healing is hungry work.” She turned her soft smile on her husband. “I’m just going to take this plate up to her. She’s in her room.” 

Once she was out of sight of Tom, she offered the plate to Tikki. “I didn’t know which you liked best, so I got you one of each.”

She carried the rest of the plate up to Marinette’s room, laying the earrings visibly on Marinette’s desk, then sticking her head out through to the balcony. “I thought I heard voices!” she said in a cheery voice. “Marinette, dear, I left your _costume_ jewelry on your desk. Hello, Chat Noir. Thank you for dealing with the akuma today. It seemed like a nasty one. Please, have a snack!”

Sabine disappeared back downstairs and Marinette turned back towards Chat. “Sorry about my mother. I’m just going to make sure she put all the jewelry back on my desk, then I’ll be right back.”

Marinette popped back downstairs in time to catch her mother in a huge hug. “Thank you so much Maman!” Sabine just nodded, pointing at the earrings sitting on the desk. “He’s a nice boy, isn’t he. I’m happy you have him to take care of you.”

Nodding, Marinette scooped up her earrings, and slipped them back into her ears before heading back up to see Chat.

He stood right where she’d left him, cat ears drooped as he looked her over. His gaze lingered at her recently injured leg before snapping back up to her face. 

“Are you sure you are ok?” he asked, stepping closer. As she tilted her head back to look up at him, she wondered exactly why she hadn’t noticed how much taller than her he was. She nodded, rolling her eyes in a perfectly practiced gesture. 

“Yes, I’m fine. Ladybug’s cure fixed my leg up perfectly. Thanks for checking on me.” She nearly laughed out loud at the complete and utter relief that flooded his face. She felt his gloved fingers grasp her own. 

“Good.” He didn’t tear his gaze from hers, the green in them almost pulsing with an unrecognizable emotion. “I - I - It was hard to fight today because I was worried about you. You were so hurt.” 

He pulled her hand to his chest, the beat of his heart erratic under her fingertips. “You mean a lot to me, Marinette.” 

Marinette could feel the blush burning its way across her face. She let herself act on impulse - stretching up on her toes to press a soft kiss to his cheek. “You mean a lot to me, too, Chat Noir. Thank you for helping me today. I appreciate it.” 

He responded with a stunned look, frozen, before blinking as his face turned red. Fair play she figured. Instantly, he got control of himself, grinning. An elegant bow brought her fingers to his lips in a gentle kiss. 

Stepping away, he offered his patented salute. 

“Don’t break any more legs!” he chirped, slipping the baton from his back and jumping off the balcony in an exaggerated movement that was so extra, she couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Night, Chat!” she yelled over the rooftops. Tikki floated close, rubbing against Marinette’s cheek. “Thanks for taking care of both my mom and Chat today, Tikki.”


End file.
